The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

Shamelessly ripped from Shoryuken is the unboxing of the upcoming 'official' SF4 joystick.



Imagine playing SSF2T HD with that beauty!

Street Fighter IV Screenshots

Still just over a month away, but some screenshots to whet your appetite over at Atomic Gamer.

Gamestop Reveals Contents of SF4 Collectors Edition

GameStop recently revealed what we can expect when purchasing the Collector’s Edition box for Street Fighter 4, and its left a few of us with more questions than answers. Eager CE buyers can expect a copy of the 65 minute Street Fighter 4 Anime movie (on BluRay for ps3 owners!), and a comic-book styled game hint-book. You will also get a limited edition figure with your purchase; Ryu for the ps3 and Viper for the 360. A soundtrack CD is also listed. Lastly, you will recieve 5 downloadable costumes for the characters as a bonus.

Source: Shoryuken

Street Fighter IV Collectors Edition Pack

Capcom has detailed the release of a European and Australian Street Fighter IV Collectors Edition pack, to launch alongside the standalone game on February 20 next year.

The pack will be available for PS3 and 360, and will include the following contents, along with the game itself, all snugly housed in a classic Street Fighter scene outer case:
- Limited edition figurines of all time favourite character Ryu and the all new character Crimson Viper, positioned within the familiar settings of the 'crowded Chinese downtown'.
- A bonus disc containing a feature length HD quality anime movie, created specially for the launch of Street Fighter IV and a selection of the best game trailers to date.
- A mini strategy guide created in the style of a comic art book detailing the moves and biographies of four of the new characters to the series; Viper, Abel, El Fuerte and Rufus
- Exclusive downloadable game content

source: cvg

Arcade Memories - Kiki Kai Kai

What has to be purely nostalgia reasons, I bring you my look into the Taito arcade game, Kiki Kai Kai.
KKK (oh, what a poor acronym that turned out to be) was a staple in my arcade diet. It was a regular in my local Fish 'n Chip shop, and would go away only to return many times through-out my childhood.
To start off with, to play this game at any adult age would have to be one of those "WTF!??" moments. Of course, no child would ever question the design or ideas used in the game. It just was and is.
Okay, to elaborate somewhat, let me explain to you, how I understand it, what the game is about.

In the beginning you are standing by what looks to be some sort of fireplace. Fanning your fireplace with a pair of nun-chucks. Or a fan. One of the two, I'm not quite sure.

Suddenly, a boat full of medieval Japanese guys appear in the black ether in front of you. They are promptly hoisted away by what looks to be tiny babies in white jumpsuits. I'm guessing this is against their will.

This is now where the game starts. It's a top-down shoot-em up in the same vain as Mercs (only not so pretty).
At your disposal you have your pair of nun-chucks (or a fan, whatever you want to call it) for close quarter combat. Or you have odd card-like projectiles for taking down enemies at a distance. Power-ups are scattered across the way which can improve the distance your projectiles go, or the size and strength. These power-ups can be obtained by successfully shooting a group of flying cherries (or roasted chestnuts, it's down to interpretation), or taking out the flames in the stationary lanterns which are placed through-out the landscape.

To say the enemies are odd would have to be an understatement.
Let me just list for you the baddies that you face in this game. Or at least what they would seem to be on the screen.
Your main foe is the ghost. A fairly easy enemy to overcome, until the later stages when they start shooting you. You also have hopping chickens, deadly flying watermelons which shoot from wooden wells, spinning umbrellas, yellow smiley faces, and heads on a stick which shoot out from their house. If you take too long and don't move forward quickly enough, skeleton's will rise up from the ground and come after you. Of course.
And that's just a select few of the oddities you will face!

At the end of each level you have a boss battle. Now, there's a trick to killing the first two bosses in this game. The first boss you simply hang to the right-hand side corner, firing as fast as you can while dodging the hot ashes he fires at you.
The second is even easier.
You just stand in the top-left hand corner and fire! He can't touch you! A good example of this is in the screenshot to the right.
It's funny to think that I found out about these little tricks from watching some other kid play this game in the Fish 'n Chip shop. God knows where he found them out. This was well before the internet could be found in most homes!
After those two boss battle's you're own your own! As I have yet to find any trick to kill them.
Once you destroy a boss, you rescue one of the guys from the boat featured in the intro sequence.

The game isn't without it's flaws however.
The main gripe is with the collision detection. It's really bad. Enemies can be almost another body length away from you yet will still register a hit. Thus losing a life.
Another really bad design flaw is in the special orbs that you can collect. Hidden about the landscape are magical orbs that, when activated (pressing both buttons simultaneously), will do one of two things. Either freeze enemies around you, or destroy all enemies on the screen. It depends on the colour of the orb. The problem with this however is that death in the game is quick and swift. You have no forwarning something is about to happen. You'd need super-human reaction time. And because finding orbs is very difficult and very rare, you don't want to go wasting your special magical orbs without proper provocation.
Which leads me onto my next gripe. Any precious orbs you collect are taken from you in death!
So you may have 3 orbs stashed away, but one stupid ghost touches you and they're all gone!

During the game over sequence you are presented with a 'number match' that displays a randomly generated number. The purpose of this, still to this day, confuses me. As it doesn't affect anything.

The difficulty level is extremely high. Even 20 years on I find it difficult to get past the 4th stage. In fact, I don't think I've ever beaten the 5th. And the only reason I get that far is because I remember the patterns of some enemies.

While my explanation of the background story may be somewhat 'interpretive', you have to remember that the arcade game didn't come with a backstory or instruction manual . Because of this I would recommend that the curious read the Wikipedia link on the game.
It is also interesting to point out that a sequel/remake was created for the SNES. However, it was no longer called 'Kiki Kai Kai', but 'Pocky & Rocky'. In this you could select from the original character, and what appears to be a raccoon.

Remakes of the original game were included in various Taito game compilations on the Playstation and PSP.
It was even released on NES back in the day!

So the legacy lives on in this slightly obscure, yet enjoyable top down scroller!

Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Initial Impressions

Okay, so SSF2THD (what a friggin' mouthful!) is out.

Well, kinda.

While Xbox 360 owners are plonking down their 1200 MS Points to download the 300-odd MB game, poor ol' PSN users have to wait a couple of weeks for the 'localised' version. This is only for those in the UK and Australasia mind you.
Retarded? Very.
Anyway, I downloaded this puppy during the weekend, ready for some old skool 'ha-do-ken' action!
SSF2THD has been in the making now for quite some time. And rightly so. The whole game has been re-done from the ground up, using artwork drawn by the guys at Udon Entertainment.
Udon are quite well known as the guys who do the popular Street Fighter comics (amongst other things).
However, if this new-age HD artwork isn't your cup of tea, the game offers players the choice to have the original game with the original sprites.
But that's not why we bought the game right?

Some of the joystick combinations have also been re-jiggered to allow more easy access to particular moves. For example, you can now actually perform Guile's super move. Somewhat.

Now, it may seem odd, but these new sprites can also hinder the experience somewhat.
Hear me out. While these new graphics are very, very well presented. And seeing your favorite character PROPERLY represented on screen, rather than a pixelated mass of sprites, is a sight to behold! The problem herein lies with the animation of those characters. Because the game mechanics are (essentially) the same, and only the graphics are re-done, the frames of animation are exactly the same as the original. Which in some cases are only 2-4 frames of animation. This can make for some odd-looking, highly detailed sprites. It's like watching a flipbook (albeit with fantastic artwork).

Players can compete with each other over Xbox Live (and the PSN...eventually).
If you're like me, and have no-one to play with, this is by far the best way to play.
Provided you can find someone with a decent ping. Which here in NZ can be quite difficult thanks to the pants way XBL finds players (some of us live OUTSIDE America Microsoft!).
But, man, once you get a good game going, it can bring some competitive emotions that you didn't have since playing SF2 in the arcades. Only you're slightly less sweaty by the end of it. But I put that down to the fact you can't see the person you're playing against. You don't need to worry about someone seeing your school boy ego get smashed.

The XBox controller is a pain-in-the-ass to use however (and I'd imagine the same could be said for the Dual Shock 3 for PS3). Serious players however will already have their 6-button joystick ready in the wings. And I wouldn't be surprised if we saw more of these on our regular gaming shelves very soon thanks to the upcoming release of Street Fighter IV.
However, some people can get VERY serious about their joystick choice!

Ignoring my pet peeve with the animation (or lack thereof), this game is definitely worth the small price to pay (which I think is about $20NZ-odd) for any SF2 fan!

• 1-UP Reviews SSF2T HD
• Street Fighter 2 Turbo Udon Comic FULL on IGN
  

Arcade Fighter News Round-up

• Games Radar reviews Street Fighter IV arcade version
• IGN reviews SSF2T HD for 360 and PS3
  
• No SSF2T HD for UK PSN users this week. No word on whether or not this affects our territory.
• Games Radar have both the DC and MK stories available to view from Mortal Kombat vs. DC Superheroes. Spoiler Territory however!
• Every Mortal Kombat Fatality Ever! Thus far at least...
  

SSF2 Turbo HD Priced - At Least for Overseas Markets

26th of November seems to be the big date!
That's only what? 5 days? (taking into consideration we're a day ahead of everyone in the world).
Now, if only we had a cool 6-button joystick?...

Competition Time!

To celebrate the release of Gears of War 2, I have one brand new copy of of the original Gears of War on the Xbox 360 to find a happy home! There's only one condition. You have to send me the NAME of your favorite arcade game, and WHY it is your favorite arcade game. It could be the game which you always skipped school to play. Where you waited in line for 45 minutes to play. Where you met your wife. I don't know? Depending on the amount of entries I receive, I will endeavor to post them on the site, if not the comments section. From there I'll pick the best one. The competition will last until the 8th of December, 08. Please fill out your address. I will NOT post any personal details about you, other than your handle on the site. Your personal details are used for shipping (should you win). And to make sure no-one is being dodgy with multiple entries. Anything related to Street Fighter will be dismissed. While you think it's an awesome game, so does the rest of your neighborhood.

Conditions:
-Game MUST be an arcade game. No PC or console games. I don't care if the game was ever ported, but you must base your experience on the arcade game machine.
-Please keep descriptions small-ish. There is no limit to the amount of words you can use, but I don't want to be reading a novel.
-Participants will allow their entries to be published on 20c.co.nz
-Participants MUST be 16 years of age or older.
-New Zealand entries will only be accepted.
-Judge's decision is final.

Arcade Memories - Magic Sword: Heroic Fantasy

What I hope to make a regular feature is the Arcade Memories section.
Every few days I plan to play through an old arcade game, and give some sort of 'mini-review' on the game itself. The plan is to feature games that were more obscure in nature. Not completely 'far out'. No odd Japanese finger poking bum games sadly. Nor any well known games. Such as Street Fighter/Final Fight/Golden Axe, etc.


So to start off with, I present;
'Magic Sword: Heroic Fantasy'!

Now, it may sound like some kind of badly conceived porno title (think about it), but it is in actual fact an arcade game from Capcom, released in 1990.

The most memorable part of this game for me would have to be the sound. Why? Because at my local arcade this had the loudest game out of the lot. You could hear the "REEAAHH!! REAH REEEAAAH!!" of the main character over the hoja-billion "ha-do-kens!" that would litter the sound scape of the arcade.
The sound is one of the high-lights for me. It makes the memories of the place more real. It's like smelling a familiar smell. I know when I play this game that behind me is the Street Fighter 2: Champion Edition game, and beside it, the Rainbow hack. To my left is the 4 player Gauntlet which has been sitting there since I can remember. And to my right is Time Killers. It's odd what you can remember just by hearing some familiar sounds.

But the game isn't just all about the sounds.
It's best described as a hack 'n slash platformer. It has Capcom written all over it. Very sharp, detailed pixels that are all bright and colourful.

You play as what appears to be some kind of He-Man ripoff. Or at least Rastan's second cousin once removed. Bah! Let's face it, during this time there were one hundred and one different types of Conan knock-offs in video games. But that's not the point.
So you're wandering along the road, sword in hand, minding your own business when some evil monster dudes want to mess shit up, and have locked up your mean-ass friends in cages. Or something. I'm not quite sure.
But that sounds like a pretty good plot.
Oh, there's also bears.

Yeh, the bad guys have locked your buddies up in cages, and the only way to free them is to use various keys found across the horizontally moving landscape.
It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!
Did I also mention there's something like 40-odd different levels?

One awesome aspect of the game is the fact that upon rescuing a buddy, they will join you in your quest for vengeance! And blood! And revenge! A bloody Revengance some would say!
It's messy.
There are a number of different side-kicks you can happen upon. These include (but are not limited to).
Ninja-guy, Big Caveman Guy, White Wizard Dude, Dark Wizard Dude, Token Hot Girl, and Bomb Peasant with no face. It's true! He has no face that I can see.
Apparently there are some more...like a dinosaur, and a Knight, but I have yet to encounter them.
With this vast array of power (I mean, c'mon - who can withstand a ninja AND a dinosaur!?!) you are virtually unstoppable! If it wasn't for the fact that you had only one life.
Of course, you have a health meter. And as per the norm, this is refilled by various grapes or legs of meat left carelessly lying about. Or in chests.

They are a fan of the treasure chests in this game.
Big chest. Small chest. Chests made out of metal.
Chests made out of wood.
There's a Dr. Seuss story in there somewhere, I know it!

At the end of each series of levels, there's the obligatory boss battle.

Overall, it's a good game. If you have the time. Apparently at the end of the game it gives you a choice to either become good...or evil. With the ending sequence being different depending on the choice you make. Which in those days was some mind blowing stuff! "Whoa!" indeed! However, I am yet to experience this due to the limited time I have.
And dinner was ready.

I give it a hearty 8 out of 10 treasure chests!

Super Street Fighter II HD

If it's one game that I'm waiting in hot anticipation this year it's this game.
Completely re-done GFX's to utilise 1080p goodness.
And only available on the Xbox Live Network or Playstation Store.

Arcade DIY Project

For a while now I've been slowly working on an MAME arcade project.
It's been something I've wanted to do for many years now.
I started with finding an old arcade machine on Trade Me in a location not too far from home (have to get it to my place somehow without paying high shipping costs).
Had no idea what game it was, but I didn't care. I just needed the out shell.

Found out the game was "Bad Dudes vs. Dragon Ninjas".

However, I ripped the game PCB out (if anyone wants it, I'm willing to sell the JAMMA board).

The monitor was slowing dying, so I replaced it with a 21" CRT television.
While not ideal (would have preferred a standard 21" CRT computer monitor with VGA inputs), it worked due to the S-Video and Component inputs.
Had to repair some of the wooden casing due to moisture weakening some points.
Sanded and repainted the insides (which were black with accumulated dirt and grime - yuck!)
Added in a spare PC I had lying about (nothing fancy, Athlon 2000+ XP, Geforce 6600, and 1gb DDR Ram).
Also picked up a relatively cheap, yet bloody sturdy, arcade joystick. Primarily for use with either an Xbox or PS1/2. It's no X-Arcade, but it's damn close!
Built an Xbox to USB controller adapter and hey-presto! PC Arcade Joystick!

It's still not 100% completed, but it's pretty close. Some rough edges to tidy up, and need to replace the coin slot (which I also removed)

Would have liked to photo document the work, but meh. Call me lazy. I did however take a couple of phone cam shots of the (almost) finished product.